Flora of North America species comparison

stout, erect, loosely arachnoid with fine trichomes and villous with jointed trichomes; branching unknown.

usually 1, erect, stout, (hollow, 2–10 cm diam. at base), openly branched distally, thinly arachnoid, villous with jointed trichomes, at least proximally.

blades elliptic to oblanceolate, 15–30+ × 6–8+ cm, divided halfway or more to midveins, lobes linear-lanceolate, rigidly spreading, entire or trifid, acuminate, main spines stout, 5–15 mm, abaxial faces tomentose with fine, non-septate trichomes, villous along major veins with septate trichomes, adaxial glabrescent or sparsely tomentose, villous along veins;

basal not observed;

cauline well distributed, distally not much reduced, sessile, bases clasping, not decurrent.

blades elliptic to broadly oblanceolate, 15–70 × 30–150+ cm, flat, pinnatifid 1/2–2/3 distance to midvein, larger usually with broad sinuses, lobes broad, few lobed or dentate, main spines 3–8 mm, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, adaxial thinly arachnoid-tomentose, sometimes midveins with jointed trichomes;

basal present or withered at flowering, winged-petiolate;

principal cauline sessile, progressively reduced distally, bases clasping or short-decurrent 1–2 cm;

distal cauline reduced, becoming bractlike, sometimes spinier than proximal.

0–1 cm.

0–15 cm.

hemispheric to broadly campanulate, 3–4 × 4–5+ cm, arachnoid.

ovoid to campanulate, 1.5–3 × 1.5–3 cm, ± glabrous.

white, 30–33 mm, tubes 16 mm, throats 9–12 mm, lobes 5.5–9 mm;

style tips 6 mm.

pale rose-purple (white), 19–26 mm, tubes 9–12 mm, throats 4–6 mm, lobes 5–9 mm;

style tips 3.5–4.5 mm.

in 6–8 series, narrowly lanceolate to linear, outer subequal, rigidly spreading, spines 5–10 mm, inner ± imbricate, bodies appressed, glutinous ridge absent, apices spreading, margins spinulose or scabrid, apices of mid and inner flattened, spineless, scabrid.

in 5–7 series, weakly unequal, dark green to brownish, lanceolate (outer) to linear (inner), abaxial faces without (or with very obscure) glutinous ridge;

outer and middle appressed or apices spreading, at least outer irregularly spiny-fringed, finely serrulate, spines slender, 3–5 mm;

apices of inner erect, abaxial faces gray-tomentose, ± twisted.

1–5, terminal and in distal axils in spiciform arrays.

1–several at branch tips, closely subtended by clustered leafy bracts or not, collectively forming open, corymbiform or paniculiform arrays.

light brown, 6 mm, collars also light brown, ca. 0.75 mm;

pappi 25–33 mm.

dark brown, 5–5.5 mm, collars narrow, ± stramineous;

pappi 15–20 mm.

= 32.